Harry Potter and the Order of Mercaba
by SeraphimBlue
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all the characters of his universe are owned by J.K. Rowling. I hold no claim over anyone here, except for my original characters and the Order of Mercaba, which is my own creation.
Chapter 18
Home of the Morrigan Family
They'd been home for about a week when the first of the letters arrived. The first had been from the goblins letting them know of what had happened while they were gone, what changes had taken place and what they needed to do in order to bring things back up to speed. Alex replied back to Feldspar that they would make a journey to Diagon Alley and speak with him in person soon.
The second had come from the Ministry, letting them know that a new Minister of Magic was being chosen and the Wizengamot requested the presence of the regent for House Potter as well as the Head of the Gorbain family. Alex frowned at the summons, wondering what they would have done if he hadn't been here to receive the notice. He'd have to ask Feldspar about if he was required to go or not.
The third owl was from the House of Black and it was spelled to only be opened in the presence of Harry Potter as well. This was a major red flag for Alex but as long as he set up protective wards beforehand, nothing should go wrong.
Preparing one of the lower rooms ahead of time, Alex gathered everything together then went to go get Harry… finding him studying in his room.
"Harry… can you come with me for a bit?"
Harry looked up from his science schoolwork and nodded.
"Sure dad, one sec. Let me put this away."
While they were gone, Harry had been learning more than just magic. His dad had enrolled him in an extension school program and he did regular schooling as well. This way he had a full education… unlike most of his peers in the Wizarding World.
Harry placed a bookmark in his textbook and followed his dad downstairs into the basement. The basement was divided into multiple rooms, including two rooms that had been prepared and warded for magic.
"You received a letter from the House of Black and it specifically requested you be in the room when it was opened. I'm not completely sure why they would want that, so I took safety precautions."
Harry nodded as his dad opened the letter. Nothing seemed to happen, so Alex began to read.
"To the parents of Harry James Potter and to young Mister Potter himself. My name is Arcturus Black, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black. My grandson, Sirius Orion Black, was listed in the will of James and Lily Potter as being Harry's godfather. In addition to this, due to some issues that occurred a few years ago, Sirius is unable to have any children and has therefore declared Harry his heir."
Harry blinked in shock. His birth parent's had a will and there was a mysterious godfather in it.
"What does that mean dad?"
Alex frowned.
"It seems to me that your godfather, Mister Black, has made you his heir which would mean that when Arcturus Black… the current head… dies, the Headship would go to Sirius and then pass to his own children… but seeing as it says he can't have any, they Headship would go to you. I'm guessing there must be more than this to it, so let's read the rest of the letter."
Harry nodded as his dad continued.
"As it stands, I am still in good health but there will come a time when I will want to step down and pass the Headship of House Black on to Sirius and then on to his own children. Sadly he cannot have any, so he is making you, in a sense, his alternate child by making you his heir."
Harry nodded. It was as his dad said.
"Now you might be wondering, Harry, why he would make you his heir. Your grandmother, Dorea Potter was once Dorea Black. This gives you a direct blood link to the family. Normally the bloodline would travel to the oldest male child in the family… Sirius and then his younger brother Regulus… but sadly Regulus died before you were born. The next would be the children of Sirius' cousins – Andromeda, Bellatrix and Narcissa. Andromeda only has a daughter, Nymphadora, so according to Wizarding law, she is unable to be the Head. Bellatrix is a Death Eater… a follower of the man who killed your birth parents… and she has no children. She has also been cast from the family so she is out as well. Lastly there is Narcissa. She has a son, Draco, but the familiar bloodline links for him are not as strong as they are for you. Therefore, you are the next in line to become Head."
Alex winced reading that. There would be stress in the family with that news he imagined.
"I bet Draco isn't going to like me much knowing I took the Headship from him…"
Alex looked at Harry and nodded.
"Probably… and that is something to think about. We might want to meet with this Arcturus Black, to see if he might change his mind about this. You don't want an enemy growing up knowing you took something from him that he sees as rightfully his."
Harry nodded sadly as his dad continued.
"Therefore, upon your seventeenth birthday, when you claim your title as Lord Potter… the title of Lord Black will be available to you as well. If you have any questions, please feel free to write back and I can answer anything you might want to know.
Arcturus Black"
Alex sighed.
"I'd better ask Feldspar about this too… yet another thing to do soon."
Harry perked up.
"Are you going back to that wizardy place?"
Alex nodded. Harry smiled.
"Can I go too? I want to check out the Potter Vault. Mister Feldspar said I could look at it when I got older… and I'd like to look at some books on the kind of magic that the wizards and witches use. Grandmother said it was really slow and primitive compared to hers. She called it… baby magic."
Alex laughed at that.
"I can see her saying that. The practitioners of that area use wands and see any other form of magic as fake. Your grandmother got into many arguments with any of them she dealt with in the past and has a very low opinion of them."
Harry frowned.
"Wands… why would they want to use wands? They're easily broken or stolen from you. You can't push much magic through them. You're stuck using such a tiny focus for your magic that you have no real power at all. I can see why grandmother said that… she's right… it's like using a baby's toy probably."
Alex smiled and patted Harry on the shoulder.
"Let's not be too against them. They are still pretty primitive when in comparison to the rest of the magical realm. We can go and check out one of their bookstores after our business in Gringots and see what we can find."
Harry smiled and nodded. It would be good to at least know what kind of magic they use… even if he never planned on using it himself.
"Thanks dad. Do you think mom, Evan and Maria would like to come too?"
Alex shrugged.
"Your mother doesn't have a very good opinion on wizards and witches after what they did to you and would probably prefer to not go. Your brother and sister are still very young and it might be too much too soon for them. Perhaps they might see it when they're older."
Harry nodded, understanding.
"When will we go?"
Alex looked at the letter in his hand and thought about the ones upstairs and sighed.
"Soon… perhaps a few days from now. I need to get in touch with Feldspar and make sure he's able to see us before we make the trip down to London."
Harry winced. They were very far from London now.
"Would we have to drive the whole way? It's pretty far now."
Alex shook his head.
"No… if anything I'd just Travel us there."
Harry lit up at hearing that. He loved Traveling with his dad.
"Awesome! The Shadow Realm is so cool."
Alex laughed at that.
"You're the only person I know who actually likes that frozen wasteland as much as me."
Harry grinned.
"It's fun. Yeah it's cold but it's so pretty in there and there's so much to see. I think I'm starting to understand how you do it too and it would be so cool to be able to do that on my own."
Alex raised an eyebrow at that.
"Really? How do I do it?"
Harry thought about it for a minute.
"I think I know how you do it but I'm not sure. The last time I really thought I felt it was about a year ago. As you were opening the portal… I could feel this thing come off your body… like a smoky wisp of shadow."
Alex nodded.
"Go on."
Harry nodded.
"Your wisp of shadow blended with the shadows around you and pulled them together, making them thicker but also infusing them with your magic… like pouring syrup onto a snow cone."
Alex smiled.
"Close enough… continue."
Harry smiled.
"With the shadows now tasting like you… you reached into the shadow to touch the Shadow Realm. I get a bit lost here because I'm not sure how you do that. I know you touched something… but I couldn't figure out how. But then, once you touched it… you pulled it toward you and it ripped open. I'm thinking you also reached through it to where you wanted to go and pulled it like a string to create a tunnel… from here to there."
Alex nodded. That was pretty close to what he did… in addition to layer upon layer of shields and support to make the tunnel safe… all things that took years to master.
"Essentially you are correct… but there is much more to it. You have to make the tunnel safe with shields and supports or the entire thing can collapse and leave you trapped there in the Void."
Harry frowned.
"The Shadow Realm is a part of the Void? What's the Void?"
Alex sat down and motioned for Harry to join him.
"You must never do anything of this on your own… not ever… until I tell you it is okay. The Void is a realm that exists between dimensions. Every dimension is able to touch it in one form or another, with some of them being easier than others. The Shadow Realm is one that floats upon it almost… like oil on water… and at times, blends with it. That's why there are so few Shadow Mages left alive now… we were killed off or died by falling into the Void."
Harry nodded as he listened.
"Killed? Someone killed the others? Why?"
Alex frowned.
"I'm not really sure. I've studied them for years, ever since learning I was one, but the records are spotty. Years ago there was a group of mages that came together to form a council. Each type of magic had their own followers and many of them were wary of Shadow. They believed them to be too powerful, too secretive… so they banded together and attacked them, killing most of them off. Only a few survived and they hid from the others… biding their time until there were enough to come forward again."
Harry nodded.
"Does the council still exist?"
Alex smirked.
"Not as it once was, but there are some factions still out there. There was a war between them and other classes of magic users and in their hubris, they were slaughtered just as they slaughtered my kind. They too are in hiding now… but they're still out there. We'll all biding our time until we have raised enough people to claim our place once more."
Harry nodded. He hoped he could one day follow in his father's footsteps and become a Shadow Mage too. Still curious about things, he asked his father more questions.
"When did you first Travel?"
Alex sighed.
"I was around your age. It wasn't a conscious thing for me to do, it all happened due to a life or death situation. You see, I was living in America at the time and there were men working in the United States government who were trying to create soldiers with special abilities."
Harry's eyes widened.
"Like magic?"
Alex nodded.
"Magic, psychic powers, genetic mutations… you name it. They had seers who knew the locations of children with these gifts… and my name was on one of those lists. They wanted to kidnap them while they were still young enough to be trained… brainwashed basically. They came after me one morning and things didn't go the way they wanted them to."
Harry stared wide eyed at his father.
"What happened?"
Alex sighed remembering.
"I was walking home from school. I got out early due to a case of food poisoning effecting all the teachers. Apparently they had all gotten together for a school board meeting, the night before, and the food provided was contaminated. They all became violently ill around 10:30 in the morning and by noon, we were all sent home."
Alex frowned as he remembered what came next.
"I didn't live too far from the school so instead of waiting for a ride, I just walked home. I didn't know that there were people there watching me… waiting for me to get alone… and this gave them the opportunity they needed. They watched me walk away from the school and once I was all alone, they attacked."
A shiver passed through his body as he relived it in his mind.
"I felt a sharp pain in my neck, like a bee sting, and I slapped at it. My hand hit a small glass dart, knocking it to the ground. I felt sick and everything started to become blurry. A white van pulled up next to me and two men jumped out of its side while the third remained in the driver's seat. They yelled at each other to grab me and get me inside before I fell to the ground."
Harry stared in fear for his father.
"I heard them say they were going to take me away and I was so scared I knew I needed to get away. I wanted to be anywhere but there and I just reached out. I was standing under a big weeping willow and the ground was very shadowy. The shadows moved and crawled up my body like oil… so different than how it is now… but it startled them enough to make them pause."
Alex's eyes glazed over as he relived that moment of his first time.
"The shadows covered my body and swallowed me whole. I was in darkness and such icy coldness that I couldn't breathe… and then I was spit out into the Shadow Realm. I floated there in that vast frozen void of purples and blues and so much ice… it seemed like forever… before I saw the white of the other end of the tunnel. I floated toward it and the magic of that place kicked in and sucked me toward the light… then spit me out the other side."
Harry gasped in awe.
"Where were you?"
Alex smiled.
"You can only go to some place you've been before or some place you can see clearly in your mind if given enough information. When they grabbed me, I was in a small town in Oklahoma… only minutes later to appear, shivering and covered in ice… miles and miles away in the middle of the Golden Gate bridge in California. It was a miracle I wasn't run over by a car."
Harry swallowed hard.
"How did you get home?"
Alex winced.
"I was unconscious and taken to the hospital. It took them a day or two for me to wake up and once I was awake, they were able to get in touch with my parents. Thankfully with Dad's position in the military, he was able to get one of the local MP's to come pick me up and get me somewhere safe. They then put me on military transport and got me back home."
Harry nodded. He knew Grandpa was powerful but not that much.
"What about the men who tried to kidnap you?"
Alex sighed.
"I told my parents what happened and they didn't believe me. They thought it was just some fluke… until the men tried again. This time, however, Mom was there and she put a shotgun blast through one of them, killing him, and injured the other enough that their partner drove off and left them. After that, they started believing me. It was then we moved and left the United States… joining dad where he was stationed in Germany."
Harry shook his head.
"What happened then?"
Alex smiled.
"Dad did some digging, pulled a few strings in the Department of Defense and found out a lot of stuff that no one wanted known. He found a program called MK Ultra and the men who were running it. I won't tell you any more because it's nothing a boy your age should know.. but I will say one thing. They wanted both me and your Uncle Roman. We have that in common. Dad pulled some strings and got me placed on a 'do not touch' list. The rest is history. Dad started me in martial arts and military training and I figured out magic on my own… until I met your grandmother and she helped with the rest."
Harry smiled at the story.
"You and Uncle Roman both were wanted for that group?"
Alex nodded.
"Yes. Sadly… they had your Uncle for a month before he was rescued by some people who knew what was going on. It effected him in ways he doesn't like to talk about."
Harry frowned.
"They hurt him?"
Alex just nodded as Harry sighed.
"Did you two ever get revenge?"
Alex shook his head.
"I haven't but Roman got some closure years later. I won't tell you what happened. You'll just have to be satisfied with knowing its over. He got some help from someone who later became family for us… a young man who never stopped talking, had amazing skills and had the foulest mouth I've ever seen on anyone."
Alex laughed remembering.
"We haven't seen him in years… but you'll have to get your Uncle Roman to tell you stories about your crazy Uncle Wade sometime…"
Harry nodded, making a mental note to do that.
"So… should we tell mom about the letter now?"
Alex winced and nodded.
"Yeah… better get it over with before she has a chance to get upset."
With that said, Alex released the magic in the room and they headed back upstairs to let Alisa know what was going on.
Gringots London
A bell sounded and one of the doors opened then closed again quietly. A letter was placed on a golden platter next to the goblin busy working on some paperwork, before they quickly left the room. Feldspar grabbed the letter without looking up and placed it next to him as he finished what he was working on.
"There… now what is this?"
Lifting the letter he began to read. A toothy grin crossed his craggy face as he began to laugh.
"It's time… finally it can all begin now. This is the first of many steps necessary to take over the world… young Mister Potter."
He pulled out a spare sheet of parchment and wrote out a reply, notifying the Morrigan family that he was free to speak with them any time of the day… three days from now. He sealed the letter and sent it off to be delivered then went back to work.
"Soon… soon everything is going to change..."